§ Mr. Hal Millerasked the Minister of Transport if his Department calculated the further effect on employment that the £40 million cut in the English motorway and trunk road construction budget will have next year.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeThe employment effect of changes in the road construction programme should not be considered in isolation from that of changes in the maintenance programme or of the Government's economic measures generally. Nor should the effects be measured against the previous Government's plans, which were not realistic. Compared with this year, the present Government's plans for next year will mean a small increase in the level of employment on motorway and trunk road construction.